Making Public Interest Part Of Your Career When It Isn’t Part of Your Job Description

1. Making Public Interest Part Of Your Career When It Isn’t Part of Your Job Description Katherine Macfarlane Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, LSU Law & “True Believer”

2. 1. Committing to Public Interest Work2. Developing a Career with Public Interest Opportunities 3. Remaining Committed to Public Interest When Your Job Consumes Your Life

3. 1. Committing to Public Interest Work • Don’t Forget Where You Came From • Family: pro-union teacher + UN = expectation that I help others • Volunteer work started early: tutored elementary student in high school, worked on campaigns in college, volunteered as reading tutor in law school • Studied abroad: Mexico during 2000 elections • College courses: majored in Spanish and Women’s Studies; exposed to Critical Race Theory and other students interested in social change • Post-college work: MALDEF, Inner City Law Center • Law school experiences: class action wage & hour litigation, prison rights cases, Los Angeles County Public Defender • Remember what you enjoyed before law school and build upon your passions • Languages? The services of a Spanish-speaking attorney are indispensable to the public interest legal community • Working with kids? Consider volunteering for local “adoption days” in which adoptive parents need limited legal representation • Passionate about elections? Become trained as an election monitor

4. 2. Developing a Career with Public Interest Opportunities Reality bites and you realize you can’t afford a public interest job. Student Debt Medical Expenses Family Obligations Desires re: Standard of Living

5. Factors Influencing My Career Choices • After three years of private law school in Los Angeles, • my student loan debt was overwhelming • After graduation, I clerked for two years, and the debt continued to add up • Clerked in the District of Arizona and the Ninth Circuit, • and was aggressively wooed by several big law firms • Chose Quinn Emanuel, a prestigious litigation firm founded in Los Angeles and known for its lack of bureaucracy, opportunities for young associates to get meaningful legal experience, and . . . very generous clerkship bonuses. • From age 11 onward, I had always lived on the brink of financial ruin. • I was exhausted from worrying about making ends meet; • for once, I wanted to live comfortably

6. 2. Developing a Career with Public Interest Opportunities • But . . . I still cared very deeply about public interest work • As Quinn Emanuel, worked on a pro bono prisoner civil rights case in the Central District of California (federal court)deposed warden of Lancaster prison, cross-examined witness at trial, gave opening statement in federal court • Made it known that I was always willing to translate for other associates working on pro bono immigration issues/pro bono work involving Spanish-speaking clients

7. 2. Developing a Career with Public Interest Opportunities • Never forget that law firms are for-profit organizations • Pitch cases that make the firm look good in front of local judges • Pitch cases that give you experience and training in relevant fields: depositions, motion practice, trial work • Pitch cases that allow firms working pro bono to recover costs • Maintain commitment to billable hour minimums • Do not work solo: find one equally-committed partner and ask friends to pitch in as needed • CHOOSE PROJECTS THAT HAVE A CLEAR START AND END DATE . . . PREFERABLY UNDER A YEAR

8. 2. Developing a Career with Public Interest Opportunities • Public interest work doesn’t need to be litigation-oriented • Contact your alma mater and volunteer to mentor students mentoring students in need is public interest work • Read resumes, conduct mock interviews, give career advice • Pick a cause you believe in and organize other lawyers around it • Formed Loyola Law School Alumni Clerkship Committee • Look for opportunities to help the people you work with • As New York City Law Department attorney, met with Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, proposed changes to internal accommodations system, advised disabled employees about their ADA rights, and petitioned for changes to emergency evacuation plan, flexible schedules for people with severe medical conditions, and an accommodation-approval process that was not reviewed by the employee’s immediate supervisor • What else? Mentor non-lawyer staff that dreams of going to law school

9. 3. Remaining Committed to Public Interest When Your Job Consumes Your Life • It’s not easy being a lawyer • Work 60+ hours/week • Never have time to unwind • Pressure to bill, bill, bill • Don’t give up • Public interest changes lives . . . this is rewarding work • You always have time for short-term projects • Public interest work builds professional relationships

10. 3. Remaining Committed to Public Interest When Your Job Consumes Your Life • Reality check • The law is not manual labor; we work hard, long hours, but we have the luxury of intellectually satisfying work that does not require backbreaking manual labor • My inspiration